Well, as I said, the characters are part of the problem. Given the show's setting, I just don't believe that Kaylee can be quite so perky, that Jayne can be quite so dumb, and I don't buy the attraction between the married couple (whose names the show hasn't bothered letting me remember), either. I thought the Enterprise senior staff was Trek's weakest, but they were still credible, and they started off with the potential to become layered and interesting. Here, it seems as though at least half the crew is stuck in simplistic caricatures.

I like Mal, I think Book has potential, and I like the brother guy for protecting his sister. His interactions with Mal were the best thing about the pilot.

But now that I've seen how the crew gets together, I'm considering fast-forwarding to the movie Serenity. Are there any other episodes (such as "Ariel", maybe) that I definitely should see before seeing the movie? I remember Book not living on board the ship during the movie's plot, but I'm assuming the show doesn't show him leaving. And I'm not much inclined to wait for the movie to see River bust out the kung fu.